Almost everything about the introduction of new internet domain names stinks of self-interest. Politicians, pornographers, regulators and big business have been dragged into the suffix wars, as Icann – the internet naming organisation – tries to add new tags to the familiar handles in the web’s current system, such as .com and .org.

Despite some fierce business objections, the window opened on January 12 for applications to buy new generic or branded suffixes such as .sport or .deloitte. Brand-owners seem to have only two options – pay up to protect themselves, or ignore the latest developments. They should choose the second.

The whole controversy sounds very Web 1.0. I thought domain name investment had peaked a decade or more ago, when unlikely sums were spent on generic names like business.com (once part-owned by the FT). That bubble burst along with many of the dotcom companies.